A garden visitor and Allan Bank, Grasmere

Last Monday afternoon the sun decided to put in an appearance and so I took the opportunity to cut a few dead flowers from the rose bushes. I'd only just started the job when the phone rang and when I answered a voice at the other end said excitedly "We have a red squirrel in our garden! It's the first one we've seen for several years!" This was good news indeed as the garden in question isn't far from our own which means the little reds are continuing to repopulate our area.
The owners of the garden suggested I bring my camera and try to get a few pictures, but I'd have to be quick as these little animals don't hang around very long.

I threw down my secateurs, grabbed the camera and made a dash for the garden in question and as you can see, the little rascal was in no hurry to leave as it had found an excellent source of tasty peanuts.

Many people have these bird feeders in their gardens but a squirrel doesn't need a bird's beak to access the nuts inside as its long front teeth will do the job quite adequately and will often gnaw right through the sturdy metal wires.

 

I'm guessing this small squirrel is from a fairly recent litter as it is a similar size to little 'Kennut' the Kentmere squirrel I featured recently. 

 

Photographed through glass the quality of the pictures isn't too good but they were good enough for me and I was delighted to see this little creature looking so healthy.

The winter ahead will be long, cold and damp here in the Lake District and red squirrels need all the nourishment they can get before winter arrives. They don't hibernate but forage for food every day throughout the year.

Amongst the shelves of bird food in a local pet shop I was pleased to find this red squirrel mix. It contains hazelnuts, monkey nuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts and a calcium supplement. I think any red squirrel would be delighted to find it.

 

Finally this week I'm showing you an old photograph of a house named Allan Bank in Grasmere which isn't too far from my own home. This was the home of William Wordsworth from 1808 to 1811. These days it is owned by the National Trust and has recently undergone much renovation. This Sunday (18th August) it will be featured on BBC1 at 5.35pm. The programme entitled Britain's Big Wildlife Revival looks at some of our most endangered species. As red squirrels are now being seen again in the garden at Allan bank and all around the Grasmere area I think you'll  be able to guess which animal will take centre stage in this particular part of the programme. . . . .  I will be watching!

Click HERE to discover more about Allan Bank

Wray Castle and giveaway winner

Greetings from a sunny Lake District. I should like to thank all those of you who chose a name for our little Kentmere Squirrel. There were some great choices and even one in remembrance of a beloved grandad who liked to eat nuts and was always dashing around hither and thither just like a squirrel (what a fun grandad he must have been). Sadly there can only be one winner and on this occasion the on line random generator has picked number 7. And the winner is Lesley with the name Kennut and I think it suits that cute squirrel very well. I have a feeling little Kennut will be spotted again soon, probably on the wall looking for more nuts and of course if I receive a photo I will pop it into a future blog post. 

Message to winner Lesley - can you pop your email address into the comments box at the end of this post and then I can contact you.

 

'Kennut' the young Kentmere squirrel

Time for us to take a short trip to Wray Castle

Looking across Windermere you can see the heavily wooded western shore of the lake. Tucked behind the trees is Wray Castle where Beatrix Potter stayed in 1882.

The road to the castle passes through rolling green fields and hills that are peppered with wild flowers and mature trees. The Lakeland fells rise majestically on the hazy blue horizon.

 And here is the 'Welcome' sign telling us that we've arrived.

 

Travelling along the driveway to the castle we pass a small country post box similar to the one we saw last week in Kentmere.

 

Wray Castle is just ahead of us. It was built as a private house in 1840 but is now owned by the National Trust and is open to the public. The castle and extensive grounds are open to visitors throughout the year.

In 1882 Beatrix Potter's family spent their summer holiday at the castle and her father took the photograph below. It was Beatrix's first visit to the area and it ignited her lifelong love affair with the Lake District.

Today we will be walking along similar paths to the ones taken by the Potter family 130 years ago. The weather is much too warm to spend time inside the castle so we'll take a gentle stroll to the lake shore. I know there are several red squirrels in the woods around here so we'll keep a watchful eye for one.

There is a large oak tree shading the path. The tangle of twigs and branches would provide perfect shelter for furry tree dwellers don't you think!

Perhaps we are being watched as we pass underneath.

Here we are at the lake shore. In Beatrix's day the only people to visit this spot would have been family and friends but today the area is available for us all to enjoy.

Unfortunately we haven't spotted a squirrel which is a bit disappointing but I'm guessing there are too many people around so we must come again in the autumn when it will be quieter.

Watch Lakeland red squirrels in the nearby wood
Rob Clarke, who works as a Community Ranger at nearby High Wray, has put together a short video of red squirrels and birds in the wood close to his office. It is only a short video lasting just over two minutes but it paints a lovely picture of a typical Lake District wood. To watch the video simply click here.

Rob Clarke writes:

Nestled in its own private wooded grounds, High Wray is the National Trust’s full time volunteer centre in the Lake District. We’re proud to be part of the South Lakes property, a gloriously diverse area that covers everything from lake shore to high fell. Our area includes famous beauty spots like Tarn Hows and Windermere lake, Beatrix Potter’s house Hill Top and even a castle. With 15 working farms and a wonderful network of paths linking all this together that’s a lot of land to look after!

Luckily, our small ranger team doesn’t have to do all this by themselves, we’re here to help with an ever willing army of volunteers from all walks of life. We aim to help people feel they’ve contributed something towards a beautiful place, learnt some new skills and had some fun doing it!

Volunteers working with us range from local schools and colleges to drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres, inner city youth charities and local volunteer groups which is why we believe there’s no such thing as a ‘typical volunteer’. Our Facebook page aims to show the variety of people we’ve worked with as well as to say a big thank you to each and every one of them. It’s also a great place to report on some of the wildlife we see out and about, or on our grounds like the resident red squirrels which many of our groups enjoy watching on our feeders.

High Wray Volunteer Centre